


...Where they lived happily ever after

by FromBenToSherlock



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven, American Horror Story: Murder House
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - American Horror Story: Coven, Crossover, F/M, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 07:31:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5819659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromBenToSherlock/pseuds/FromBenToSherlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After everything that happened in the Coven in New Orleans, Zoe and Kyle move into a beautiful house in Los Angeles to get rid of the bad memories. Little do they know what they got themselves into.</p>
            </blockquote>





	...Where they lived happily ever after

**Author's Note:**

  * For [S2juruka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/S2juruka/gifts).



> For my Bestie, Hubby, Blondie: I'm sorry it took so long.
> 
> The outline for this fic has been created in August 2015 at the beach in sunny Croatia when my friend prompted me to "write an AHS fic". I asked her what she liked and she only said "I trust you, you'll find something in that head of yours". So I did.
> 
> Due to other projects this fic got delayed further and further until I thought it would make a nice Christmas present.  
> Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time.
> 
> But, finally, here it is, my very first AHS fic.
> 
> Julia, I truly hope you enjoy it and it doesn't creep you out as much as other fics so far did.  
> I potato you.
> 
> To everyone else, I hope you enjoy this fic as well. 
> 
> I tried to keep the descriptions of violence light, but if you're unsure, you should maybe skip this fic.
> 
> Not beta-read so far, so if you find any mistakes, you can keep them:)
> 
> Constructive criticism is, as always, welcome!:)
> 
> And now, enjoy!

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? Just like I hoped it would be. You can practically feel the supernatural radiating from it. What do you think?”

 

Zoe averted her gaze from the house in front of her and looked over her right shoulder to where Kyle was standing. He was also staring at the house in front of him, but his face didn’t tell much about how he felt about it.

 

She walked over to him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it slightly while smiling up at him.

 

“Tell me, Kyle. Do you like it?”

 

After a few seconds, Kyle squeezed her hand in response and nodded. His eyes reluctantly left the building in front of them and he fixed them on Zoe with the hint of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.

 

Zoe didn’t know whether it was because of the house or because she was smiling at him, but every positive reaction from Kyle was a good sign for her, no matter the reasons.

 

After getting murdered in the bus crash Madison had so foolishly caused with her telekinetic powers and getting revived by Madison and Zoe, Kyle was still a little on the taciturn side and Zoe couldn’t even blame him for it. Coming back from the dead with that amount of scars on one’s body in a shady pathology wouldn’t be Zoe’s favourite scenario either.

 

Sometimes she missed the witty guy she had gotten to know at the party she had Madison accompanied to, but she had fallen for Kyle nonetheless, and, Zoe was sure of that, they were getting there sooner or later.

 

When he had a good day, he was already quite communicative and he just turned in on himself when it was a bad day, when his scars hurt or when the remains of death nagged at him. So, Zoe guessed, they were quite lucky all things concerned.

 

And she was even happier now that she was standing in front of this particular house, a house with a history as wicked and unbelievable as her and Kyle’s story.

 

Leaving New Orleans and the coven had been a big step for her and for Kyle, but in her opinion it was for the better. Cordelia had taught her everything she needed to know about magic and her abilities, and after consulting some of Cordelia’s acquaintances concerning Kyle’s situation, Zoe had felt comfortable enough to leave.

 

With Nan’s telepathic powers, Zoe would instantly know when her coven needed her, and with Nan and Queenie still in New Orleans, Cordelia had agreed to letting Zoe and Kyle go to shrug the last remaining bit of Madison’s ghost of them.

 

At some times, they still missed her, but these days became less and less frequent and even when they occurred, they talked through it and did their best to protect themselves from those dark shadows of the past by burning a special mix of herbs Cordelia had given them.

 

And now they were here, in the outer skirts of Los Angeles, the sunshine state, and were standing in front of what probably was their new home. Zoe couldn’t be happier.

 

“I have a good feeling about all this, I really do.”

 

So did Kyle, if the fact that the hand that had been in Zoe’s before was now slung around her waist to pull her closer.

 

What neither of them saw or felt were the shadows behind the curtains that looked like they were watching the couple standing outside. But shadows couldn’t watch people.

 

Or could they?

 

* * *

 

 

Moira turned her back on the window and on the couple on the sidewalk. More clueless people who didn’t know what they got themselves into. It was exhausting, but Moira had promised to help the Harmons to get all interested people to leave the house, so she had no choice.

 

When she entered the kitchen, Moira found Vivien and Ben with their baby and Violet sitting at the counter, drinking tea. They were so happy that Moira could hardly believe. Since they were dead, all the problems they had had seemed to have gone up into smoke, now nothing more than the hint of the shadow on their life amongst the living.

 

But now, in the world of the dead, they were unusually happy. Normally, people who lived in the state they were in turned vicious and vengeful after some time. Both worlds, the living and the dead, were dragging at them, but they had nowhere to go. Too dead to truly be alive and too alive to truly belong to those who really are dead, they were condemned to stay somewhere in between, bound to the house they had died in with other people who had had to share the same fate.

 

She, Moira, had experienced it herself, the vivid gnawing inside of her that had forced her to try and seduce Ben. She still felt those little streaks, a vivid reminder of the fact that she was, indeed, caught between the two worlds just like the lunatics in the cellar. But now, with what came close to a family, these feelings had ebbed away. However, Moira still pitied those unfortunate souls in the house that weren’t lucky enough, like Chad and Patrick or Dr Montgomery and his wife.

 

“Hey Moira, what’s up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost” Violet joked.

 

Ben and Vivien just rolled their eyes and chuckled, but when they saw the look on Moira’s face, their amused faces turned into worried ones. When Moira didn’t answer, Vivien spoke up.

 

“Moira, what happened? There’s something you want to tell us.”

 

“There are new potential acquirers, Madam. A young couple, they stand outside. They look really nice, so I guess it is time for our emergency plan.”

 

Vivien sighed and looked down on her baby before facing Ben.

 

“I’ll bring him to his room so he can sleep, then we’ll think of something. Maybe last time was a bit too much, I guess if we tune it down a bit it’ll still work and they’ll leave in an instant.”

 

Ben nodded, but when Violet spoke up both he and Vivien stopped in their tracks.

 

“I’m going to ask Tate to help. He is on quite good terms with Beau, so I guess he could really help us.”

 

“You’re talking to him again? So you – you forgave him?”

 

Violet didn’t need to look at her mother to know what she was thinking. After everything that had happened with the rubber man costume, Vivien despised Tate and everything he had done. Due to her, he didn’t deserve anyone’s forgiveness, but least of all Violet’s.

 

“Yes and no. I’m talking to him again. You know, as long as I don’t talk to him and don’t acknowledge his presence, he is alone in this house and the only one’s he can talk to are – well, all those crazy ones in here. Not really the best influence for someone with his tendencies, is it?”

 

Ben turns to Vivien.

 

“Well, she does have a point there…”, he begins, but Vivien instantly stops him and raises her voice.

 

“She does have a point? Honestly? After all he did you’re protecting him? And you”, she all but screamed, turning to Violet, ”you forgive him? Just because it wouldn’t be good for him?”

 

Now that Vivien had stopped, everything was silent except for her heavy breathing. It was a miracle that she hadn’t woken the baby.

 

“I didn’t say that I forgive him, did I? It’s just, there are already enough bad spirits in this house, no need to add another. I just don’t want to be the reason another soul creeps into the dark. I may be dead, but I still believe in Karma.”

 

At that, Vivien and Ben’s faces lit up a bit, but they still didn’t seem to be convinced.

 

“Listen, I don’t say that you have to approve my choices, but there has already been enough misery in this house. He already is in a quite broody mood by nature and I don’t want to be responsible for his mind-set getting even worse. That’s not who I am. I won’t pursue a relationship with him and I won’t forgive him, I just don’t want him to become like the others in here, okay?”

 

Vivien sighed and nodded. She knew her daughter had a point there, even when she didn’t want to admit it. Tate had made a lot of bad choices, but he had received his punishment and there was no need to be cruel to him. An eternity full of hate and wrath couldn’t be right.

 

“Okay. I agree, you do have a point. I just want you to be safe and happy, okay?”

 

Violet stood up from where she had been sitting at the counter and walked up to Vivien to hug her fiercely.

 

“No problem, mom. You don’t have to worry about me, you know nothing can scare me. And besides, what could probably happen to me? Are you afraid I could die?”

 

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes at that, but Violet herself just laughed brightly while she was still hugging her mother.

 

For Violet, jokes about death would never get old.

 

* * *

 

 

In the evening, Violet was in her room, listening to the Rolling Stones, when she heard a knock on the door. Expecting her mother, she told the person to enter and turned the volume down. For some reason, her family didn’t really appreciate the genius of Mick Jagger.

 

When she looked up however, it wasn’t her mother or her father standing in the doorway, but Tate, a rueful expression on his face.

 

“Hey Violet, can I come in?”

 

He nowadays always asked if he was allowed in, a habit that certainly had its roots in the weeks Violet had refused to acknowledge his presence and he was forced outside every room she was currently in.

 

It had been a painful experience for him, physically and mentally, and he had no intentions of making Violet repeating it.

 

Asking for permission every time he wanted to do something around her was most probably his way of respecting her boundaries. An act Violet appreciated whole-heartedly, but that didn’t change her mind.

 

“Of course, but close the door behind you. No need for my parents to see us.”

 

Tate nodded eagerly while stepping through the doorway and closed the door behind him. Afterwards, he stood awkwardly in the middle of Violet’s room, fidgeting with his hands and avoiding Violet’s eyes.

 

After what seemed like hours, Violet became tired of waiting for Tate to start talking.

 

“Are you here just to hang around or is there anything you wanted to talk about?”

 

He nearly flinched when he heard her voice and swallowed visibly, struggling to find the right words. He knew what he’d heard, but saying it out would mean he could never truly take it back, so maybe he needed another approach.

 

“Moira told me there were new people who want to move in. I thought you might need my help with spooking them.”

 

Violet tipped her head to the side while a crease formed between her eyebrows. Tate should have thought of that. Violet was clever, she knew something was off. But after a moment, she seemed to have come to a conclusion, because her expression cleared.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s true. I already thought of it. Maybe you could ask Beau to cause a little mayhem upstairs, you know. Not harm them, but enough to scare them shitless so they won’t even think of coming back.”

 

Tate nodded.

 

“I guess he’d even like that, you know. He’s a nice guy, a little weird, but well, we all are. Causing a bit of trouble so they’ll go upstairs and then he’ll just jump out of a corner. Maybe we’ll decorate him with a bit of fake blood to make him look scarier.”

 

“Good idea, yeah. Just think of something. I think my parents are also plotting something out. The shooting each other thing had worked quite well last time, so I guess they’ll do that again. Just, uhm, could you just look out for them so that Thaddeus won’t get his hands on them? I know he’s not essentially bad, but, well, I guess he doesn’t know not to just scare people. No need to get them harmed beyond a good shock.”

 

“Of course, if that’s what you want. It’s just…”

 

“What?”

 

Tate looked to the ground. He had to say it now, there was no point in denying it any longer.

 

“I – I heard you, you know. What you said. This afternoon, to your parents and Moira, I mean. I heard all of it.”

 

“And?”

 

“You said you didn’t forgive me”

 

Violet rolled her eyes.

 

“Still not a question.”

 

“Are you – Are you really not forgiving me?”

 

“No.”

 

“But –“

 

“No, Tate, there is no but. I didn’t forgive you and I’m pretty sure I won’t because I can’t, no matter how hard I try. What you did… That was disgusting and I can hardly stand the thought of you in that, that suit. I still care about you, still love you even, but that’s not enough to forgive you or to be with you. You betrayed me, you raped my mother. That’s more than anyone could stand, dead or alive. I just can’t do this with you anymore, but I can’t stand the thought of you becoming like them either. So that’s my way to deal with it, and nothing will change that.”

 

Tate looked down, not able to meet Violet’s eyes. He had been sure that in the moment where Violet had acknowledged his presence again, they would find back together eventually.

 

He knew that what he had done had been terrible, even worse than killing all those kids in school, but he had been sure that, now that everything had turned out like that and her family was happy, she would be able to ignore the past and look into the future. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

 

He nodded slowly and turned around, about to head out of the room. This wasn’t how he’d planned it and right now, he didn’t think he was able to endure Violet’s presence any longer.

 

Even finding out what he really did or finding out he couldn’t safe Violet from the overdose hadn’t hurt as much as this moment right now. She just saved him from a life in the shadows, but she didn’t want him back. Under these circumstances, he thought, he really didn’t mind remaining in the shadows. Everything was dark for him when Violet wasn’t around.

 

Before he walked out, he stopped and took a deep breath. This was the first time he left Violet with the fact in mind that they would never be together again and, to be honest, he wasn’t really ready to go, to leave her, to quit. But he had to and for her sake, he would.

 

“Thanks for trying to safe me”, he mumbled and went out, not intending to ever enter this room again.

 

* * *

 

 

Two weeks after they had admired the house from the outside, Zoe and Kyle had signed the contract and had bought the house for a ridiculously low price. Zoe knew why, and she also knew that the realtor had left out more than three quarters of the house’s history of blood, murder and wrath.

 

But to Zoe and Kyle, all this didn’t matter. They had their own house now, their home, a place where they could spend the rest of their life. They had to share their house with a few ghosts, at least that was what Zoe expected, but a few more dead people around her wouldn’t be that bad. She was used to it.

 

After all their belongings were brought into the house and unpacked within a few hours, thanks to a little witchcraft, of course, they settled down for an early dinner in the living room and watched TV and when they decided to turn in for the evening and went upstairs to go to bed, they were happy and content.

 

Kyle didn’t really need much sleep, dying and being brought back to life by magic seemed to bring that with them, but he liked the feeling of curling up next to Zoe. It felt human and safe and he needed it more than food and water.

 

After three hours, it was pitch-dark outside, Kyle woke from the stupor he’d been in. Zoe was soundly asleep next to him, her chest raising and falling steadily with her even breaths. At first, he didn’t realize what had woken him, but then he heard it, an even thumping from the attic.

 

Of course, Zoe had told him before that the house bore some secrets and that sounds like these were to be expected, but he wondered nonetheless.

 

What was it that was causing the noise up there?

 

Zoe had also told him, that there maybe were people like him in the house, but maybe a little different. What were they like? Maybe he should go upstairs and see for himself what was it what truly was wrong with this house. But what if the ghosts wanted to talk? Talking was still difficult…

 

He had to wake Zoe, she always knew what to do. He shook her gently and whispered in her ear.

 

“Zoe… Zoe, wake u’. Need your hel’”

 

Zoe’s face scrunched up with the realization of someone calling her name. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Kyle, her expression worried.

 

“Kyle, you alrigh’? Somethin’ wrong?”

 

Instead of answering, Kyle just touched his ear and pointed upstairs and as if on command, there it came again, the thumping sound.

 

“Huh, I guess we get our first glimpse of the other inhabitants. You curious?”, Zoe asked and grinned up at Kyle, a mischievous glint in her eyes. When Kyle nodded enthusiastically, Zoe huffed out a laughed and swung her legs out from under the duvet.

 

They went up the narrow staircase to the attic to find it dusty, clattered and, to both their disappointment, seemingly empty. They looked around a bit. The previous inhabitants of his house must have left most of their belongings. There were paintings, chairs of various designs and an endless supply of decoration. Zoe would have to have a good look at it at some point, maybe there was something in there which matched her or Kyle’s taste.

 

That was when Zoe noticed a presence, other than Kyle, in the room. She couldn’t see anyone, but she was sure someone was with them, someone who just waited for the right time to show themselves. She smiled knowingly and turned around to face Kyle, who, judging the expression on his face, had also noticed they had company.

 

They stood there for a few moments and held their breaths, waiting for something to happen. At first they thought their attempts were futile and that they had misinterpreted something, that there really wasn’t some sort of ghost or monster up here, but then, instead of something scary, all that came was a little red ball.

 

Both, Kyle as well as Zoe, blinked down at the ball in wonder. Obviously, someone up here wanted to play and Zoe was more than up for it.

 

“That’s a nice ball, isn’t it, Kyle? I guess someone up here wants to play with it, but it would be really nice to know who this someone is”, Zoe stated, loud enough to be heard in the far corners of the attic.

 

Almost instantly, there came some rustling and a few feet away from them a shadow moved before a creature came into view. Normal people might have been scared or even disgusted, but Zoe and Kyle weren’t like normal people.

 

The creature wore a dirty white-ish sleeping gown, had crooked teeth and its head was slightly too large for the rest of the body, but apart from that, this creature or ghost wasn’t really frightening and had nothing evil in mind.

 

The creature clearly wasn’t used to people not shying away as soon as it came into view, because it obviously didn’t know what to do now. It tipped from one foot to the other and fumbled with its hands while looking down. Zoe was charmed immediately and even Kyle smiled the shy smile that always showed on his face when he really liked something.

 

“That’s your ball, huh?”, Zoe asked.

 

The creature nodded, the movement barely visible.

 

“You want to play with it? With us, I mean?”

 

The creature looked up in surprise and, if Zoe interpreted the creature’s expression correctly, grinned while it nodded enthusiastically. Zoe grinned back, before she rolled the back to the creature, which tossed it in Kyle’s direction. Kyle, laughing gleefully, threw the ball back.

 

This procedure went on for a while, but at some point, Zoe stopped.

 

“Can you tell us your name? I mean, we’re becoming friends here and we don’t even know what to call you. I’m Zoe, and this is Kyle. What’s your name?”

 

The creature looked at her but stayed silent. From the look on its face, Zoe was sure it had understood every single word she had said, but somehow it wouldn’t answer.

 

“His name is Beau, short for Beauregard, but Beau will do. However, I wouldn’t expect to much chitchat from him, he can’t talk. Sometimes he makes some noises, but that’s all”

 

Kyle and Zoe jerked around in surprise at the sound of another voice behind them and found a guy standing there.

 

He had blond hair, a bit on the longer side, and a nice looking face but again, just like with Beau, Zoe felt something that surrounded the boy in front of them. Kyle stepped a little closer to Zoe, a habit of his that showed when Kyle was nervous or unsure. But Zoe felt none of this. She took a step towards the boy standing in front of them.

 

“Thanks for the information. And who are you?”, Zoe asked.

 

“I’m Tate, Beau’s brother. We live here.”

 

“So do we, we just moved in.”

 

“Oh, I know that, but we’ll see how long you’ll want to stay here.”

 

“What does that even-“

 

Before Zoe could finish her question, there came loud clatters from downstairs. Kyle’s face scrunched up in irritation and even Zoe didn’t really know what to do with this.

 

“Always in time”, Tate said, a knowing smile tugging on his mouth, “Have fun!”

 

And with that he was gone, as if he’d never been there. Kyle looked at Zoe and from the look on his face knew he was uncomfortable. She knew that feeling all too well, but she had to be the stronger one, that’s what she owed him.

 

“Don’t worry, they can’t hurt us. I guess the spirits here want us to leave, they want to scare us a bit. But we’ll show them what we’re made of.”

 

Kyle still looked unsure, but still followed Zoe when she made her way downstairs. Once there, she realized that the noise wasn’t coming from the first or second floor, but from the cellar, a fact at which Zoe could only roll her eyes.

 

“The cellar, of course. It’s like we’re in a goddamn cliché horror movie. And next we’re gonna split up because that’s an awfully bright idea.”

 

She all but stomped down the stairs, as always followed by Kyle. He rarely left her side and she was grateful for his presence. Ever since she discovered and got to know her powers, more of a curse if you asked her, she’d never thought she would find someone who was willing to stay close to her. How wrong she had been.

 

The cellar was not only dusty, but also incredibly dirty and Zoe made a mental note to ask Cordelia for a good cleaning spell. No way she was cleaning all of this without any help. But, apart from their breaths and the shuffling of their feet on the floor, it was silent. That would change soon enough, so Zoe decided that, until the other inhabitants were ready to start their show, she could spend the time to browse around a bit.

 

There were all sorts of things down in the cellar, but what really held her attention was the collection of glass jars filled with body parts and dead animals. Zoe beckoned Kyle to join her and they both stared at the conserved material in both, disgust and awe. Again, normal people would have been scared, but Zoe and Kyle weren’t normal. Kyle was even sown together from different body parts that had still been intact after the bus crash, and seeing as Zoe was the one who had done the sewing, they really had no reason to run away out of fear. Just another not so normal day.

 

They continued their tour through the cellar when they came to a room, which was almost empty if it wasn’t for something that looked like a rocking chair that was hidden under a blanket. That was it, Zoe was sure of it. That was where the show of whoever wanted to scare them should start.

 

Zoe took a deep breath and turned around to face Kyle and to wink at him and to beckon to the rocking chair. She knew something was hidden under the blanket and wanted to peek under it, but when she raised her hand to grab the blanket, Kyle held her back and shook his head.

 

He pulled her to the back of the room to put a distance between her and the rocking chair and approached it himself. Even after all that had happened, he still wanted to protect her. That was why she loved him.

 

Kyle reached out for the blanket and pulled it away, revealing something that looked like an ugly doll. It was small, just about a meter in height and had dirty white-ish skin and on his head very sparse hair of the same color. The doll’s mouth was closed, but its lips were red, blood red to be exact, which made a horrific contrast to the white skin.

 

Zoe, normally not someone to judge, had seldom seen something so ugly and she couldn’t imagine the child that would have had fun while playing with that…doll. A second later, she knew why. The doll turned out to not be a doll but to be, in fact, quite alive, or as alive as the people in this house were, as it opened its eyes and made inhuman sounds that came deep from its throat.

 

Kyle, too stunned from a doll coming to life, didn’t react fast enough when the doll, no, not doll, the thing, lunged out of the rocking chair right on Kyle’s chest with its mouth, now opened to show pointy fangs, aiming at Kyle’s neck.

 

Zoe, not able to move or remember that she just could have used magic, just held her breath and stared, preparing herself for the worst, when suddenly the thing stopped in its tracks, teeth less than an inch from Kyle’s skin, and widened its eyes in surprise.

 

They stood there like that for a moment, everyone too shocked to move or to say something, before Kyle’s brain kicked back into gear and he grabbed the thing by its shoulders to toss it back into the chair. He steeled himself for another attack, but the thing just sat there and shivered, apparently not interested in ripping Kyle’s throat out anymore.

 

Before Zoe could take a deep breath now that this situation was over, she heard a sound coming from the door and, looking over there, found two people standing there, a man and a woman. They both were in their late thirties and attractive, their clothes showing they had money, if it weren’t for the blood they were covered in and their in insanity widened eyes. He was holding a knife to the woman’s throat as he guided her into the room. In Zoe’s opinion, this was really getting out of hand.

 

“Huh, seems he doesn’t want our guests’ blood, so I guess now it’s about time you sacrifice yourself. He will love your blood, and I will love watching him drain you.”, the man said, his voice growling in a dangerously low timbre.

 

Zoe knew she should have been intimidated, but after what they’d already seen in this house, she was quite sure these people wouldn’t hurt them. What had Tate said? Something about seeing how long they’ll stay here. She was almost sure that this show was there way of scaring them out.

 

“Say goodnight, darling. I’ll see you in hell!”

 

And with that, the man slit the woman’s throat open, a hot, broad stream spluttering out of the gaping wound. While she tumbled to the ground, the man laughed like a maniac and tears of joy flowed down his face. That guy really needed help, Zoe thought.

 

After only a few moments, a pool of blood had built under the woman, a fact that definitely attracted that doll-like thing’s attention. It almost flared its nostrils and slowly approached the woman’s dead body, but before it could get a taste of the blood still flowing out of her veins, someone started to speak.

 

“Get the fuck off me, Thaddeus. I’m not your dinner.”

 

Zoe and Kyle looked at each other, their questioning looks mirroring each other. Thaddeus? Who was Thaddeus?

 

But as it seemed, they would get an answer without even asking for one, because the woman who was bleeding on the floor lashed out at the doll-thing, which apparently was named Thaddeus, and shoved it aside before standing up, the wound gaping obscenely like a second grin under her chin. Zoe had been right, this was like a cliché horror movie.

 

“You really think you can get rid of me like that, Ben? God, I should’ve done this a long time ago. All that time I wasted with our marriage…” , the woman said almost nonchalantly and drew a gun from behind her back, aimed, and shot the man, Ben, straight between the eyes.

 

There she stood, her blood running down her whole body, gun still raised and her breath coming ragged, and watched with a fading grin how the man first fell to ground, stayed there for a few seconds, and stayed up again.

 

This was more than Zoe could handle, it was absolutely ridiculous. First the cute guy in the attic and his brother, then Vampire-Zombie-Thaddeus and now these batshit-crazy married ones who want to kill each other all over again. All this drama just to make them leave, to scare them out of the house they had chosen for themselves. No way.

 

At first it started as a silent cackle, but it soon evolved into a chuckle and then into loud laughter. All of this was insane. A reawakened witch and her zombie-boyfriend move into a haunted house and get amateurishly spooked by the ghosts living there. This was just a huge joke. Zoe laughed until her stomach hurt and she could barely breathe and when she finally caught her breath again, she found not only Ben and his wife staring at her, but also Tate and a blonde girl and a red haired woman in a maid-uniform she had not seen before. They sure thought she was going nuts.

 

“Sorry, really, I, uh, I really didn’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just, wow, that show was really bad. A bit disgusting, but mostly bad.”

 

“So, so you aren’t scared?”, Tate asked.

 

“Not really. We’ve seen worse, to be honest”, Zoe answered honestly.

 

Tate just smiled, but the other ghosts still looked suspiciously.

 

“We played this game quite often”, the woman said, “but you’re the first ones who aren’t scared. What’s your deal? There must be something about you.”

 

Zoe just smiled at Kyle who came to her side and slung an arm around her waist, his nose buried in her hair.

 

“Well, I guess it all started when I was at it with my ex-boyfriend and killed him, accidently of course. That’s how I found out I’m a witch with a quite morbid speciality, but I can do other stuff as well. A friend of mine, also a witch, then had a fit of rage and killed Kyle here and a few of his mates in a bus crash. We puzzled Kyle together from the parts that were left and revived him, I fell in love with him and Kyle killed her. Than there were a few in our circle killed while we were looking for a new supreme, a sort of leader in our milieu, including me. But I also got revived. So, after finding our new supreme and me becoming part of the high council, we started to look for a house and found this one. That’s the basics, any questions?”

 

Everyone, except Tate, just looked at them in blank shock. When no one raised his voice to say something, Zoe smiled a self-satisfied smile and tugged at Kyle’s hand.

 

“Thought so. Well, we’re going to bed now, it has been a long day. Please don’t try to kill us, because I honestly die to hear all of your stories. Sorry, I tend to make dying-jokes. Goodnight, everyone.”

 

Zoe just walked out of the room and dragged Kyle, who smiled shyly, after her. When the ghosts were sure they were out of earshot, they spoke again.

 

“What the fuck? These two are freaks!”, the blonde girl said.

 

“I like them”, Tate murmured.

 

“Of course you do, just your wavelength, huh?”, the girl shot back bitterly.

 

Tate didn’t answer, he just stood there and stared to floor, knowing she was right.

 

“Violet, that’s enough!”, the woman scolded, wiping the blood off her with the blanket that had covered the rocking chair, “I guess these two are different. I mean, they’ve already been dead. Maybe that’s why Thaddeus didn’t really want to harm him. I think we should let them live here, they seem to be able to stomach what awaits them here. And besides, we can’t really scare them out of here, so we’ll wait. What do you think?”

 

The red-haired woman and Ben nodded while the girl, Violet, looked sourly. She didn’t like the idea of someone corrupting her version of peace and she was determined to get the couple out of the house.

 

Tate, on the other hand, smiled and was happy. The idea of someone new in this house was nice, and the new girl seemed to be nice. And she was clever and witty.

 

This, Tate thought, could be a new chance for him to make new friends, and he wanted to take it.

 

* * *

 

 

The night passed without further incidents, and even the next day was nothing more than domestic bliss for Kyle and Zoe. They spend their day with eating together and watching TV, with wandering around the neighbourhood and laughing together. For both of them, this was what a perfect life should look like.

 

Of course, Zoe still sensed the ominous presence in the house, but shrugged it off. If they wanted to live here, she had to come to good terms with the fact that there will always be someone around, even if she couldn’t see who it was.

 

So she just went and busied herself with moving furniture around and making plans for a new decoration of the house. She soon realised that this would become a long-term project. Zoe liked the old-fashioned look of the house, but a slight modern touch clearly wouldn’t hurt.

 

What she didn’t realize was the fact that someone was indeed watching her. She was aware that most probably one or the other ghost would come into the room to check on what she was doing, but she didn’t expect one of them to watch her permanently.

 

But Tate did it nonetheless. With nothing special to do now that Violet had made it quite clear that she didn’t want to spend any more time with him, he lounged around the living room where Zoe was redecorating with the help of her telekinesis powers.

 

He watched her intently, the way she moved, the way her eyes narrowed in concentration when she was about to levitate something to move it around. It was fascinating. And she was beautiful. There was an aura around her. As soon as you laid your eyes on her, you could see all the power, the strength, the happiness radiating from her and Tate envied her for that.

 

If everything she had told them down in the cellar had been true, how did she manage to stay in such good spirits? How, after being dead, after seeing so many people die, had she managed to not fall into the shallow void he found himself in? And it wasn’t as if she was only focussed on herself. She cared, for everything around her. She cared about the house she bought, handled it and everything in it with care and respect. Before entering a room she first peeked into it to see if there was one of the ghosts in there as if to not interrupt them.

 

And then there was her boyfriend. Kyle. It was him Tate envied the most. Trapped in this house with people who didn’t want him here, Tate was now bound to watch another dead guy, Kyle, walk around as if he’d never been dead. Yes, there were the scars, Tate had seen them, and the fact that he rarely spoke, but other than that, Kyle was free. He could go wherever he wanted. He could leave the house, leave Zoe even, although he obviously preferred to be around her, and he had practically no limits in his actions.

 

And he had Zoe, a fact that made Tate almost hate Kyle. Yes, Tate had found love, he had found Violet, but watching Zoe und Kyle interact made his heart ache with something he had never felt before. Because Zoe cared. This morning, Zoe had gotten up earlier than Kyle, but when he finally came down to join her in the living room, she only looked at him for one second and her expression became worried.

 

“Good morning, honey”, she had said, “what’s wrong?”

 

Kyle had only shrugged and had mumbled something like “nothing”, but Zoe didn’t believe him for a second. She took his face in her hands and looked him straight in the eyes, her expression full of affection and concern.

 

“I don’t believe you, Kyle. Come on, you know you can tell me. It’s the scars and your bones, isn’t it? They hurt.”

 

“Weather… too sultry…”, Kyle mumbled while he nodded slightly.

 

Zoe nodded, satisfied.

 

“Thought so, but we’ll deal with that. Sit down, I’ll run you a hot bath and make you a cup of the tea Cordelia told me would help you. And then we’ll see how you feel, okay?”

 

And that was what she had done. She had made him a cup of tea, something that reeked abominably but seemed to help, and had run him a bath. Afterwards she had given him a soft massage, concentrating on the points where one joint of his body had been artificially connected with the other. Tate could practically see Kyle melt into Zoe’s touch and after about one and a half hours, Kyle seemed to feel perfectly content where he was lying on the couch with Zoe stroking his hair.

 

He was still on this spot while Zoe moved the furniture around, but he didn’t seem to mind to be levitated. It was their definition of normal, and it was everything had ever wanted for himself, what made him think about his and Violet’s relationship.

 

Tate had loved her, he still did, and he didn’t doubt that Violet had loved him, too, but it was different in comparison to what Kyle and Zoe had. She did so much for him, seemed to sense it as soon as there was something wrong with him. She’d do anything to make him happy and, at least as much as Tate could tell, Kyle loved her just as much. He wasn’t very vocal about it, he generally wasn’t, but still, there was something in his eyes when he looked at her, something about the way he always tended to lean towards her, that there was no need to question his affection for her.

 

This relationship went both sides, they both took as much as they gave, and they were happy with it. Had it ever been like that with Violet and him? He had always tried to make everything better for Violet, to not make so many mistakes. His efforts had been futile, but he had tried. What had she done? Tate really had to think about it, but there came nothing, a fact that made him feel a painful turn in his stomach. This wasn’t fair. So, without showing himself to either Kyle or Zoe, he went out of the living room where Zoe was now cuddled up against Kyle’s side, to go up to the attic to visit Beau.

 

* * *

 

 

A few weeks later, everything in the house had settled into some kind of routine.

 

Zoe and Kyle occasionally came up into the attic to play with Beau, who had really grown to like the two of them, but especially Kyle. Beau didn’t need to try to talk around Kyle, because Kyle preferred to got without talking as well, and so they had developed some kind of silent understanding, like telepathy.

 

Zoe loved to watch the two of them interact, glad that Kyle had found someone he could interact with without any effort. It was refreshing to see him so careless and whenever they have been in the attic, Kyle was in an exceptionally bright mood afterwards. Maybe, one day, Beau would come down so they could play in another part of the house, a part where there was more light.

 

They had also gotten to know Moira a little better. At first, she had refused to clean for people who have already been dead before, but after some time, she had grown to like the weird couple and had decided to help them with the work in the house. Furthermore, she had also given Zoe some recipes for teas and beverages that could help Kyle.

 

By now, Moira was indispensable.

 

Even Vivien and Ben had chosen to show themselves in order to get to know Kyle and Zoe properly, and to show them their baby. As Zoe found out, their baby had also died in this house, shortly after it had been born, so it would always stay like this and would never grow up.

 

To Zoe, this was fascinating, so she spent a whole afternoon with Vivien and the now two-year-old baby that still was as small as on the day it was born. While Zoe and Vivien were chatting, Ben had tried to get through to Kyle, which, at first, hadn’t been easy. But after some time, Kyle even tried to speak, something that made Zoe’s heart nearly jump out of her chest when she found out. The fact that Kyle trusted Ben enough to talk around him was a huge sign of trust and made her happier than anything else.

 

And, what was even better, talking with Ben also improved his conversational skills. Zoe hadn’t really thought about it, until one morning, when Kyle came down into the kitchen where she was preparing their breakfast, he hugged her from behind and whispered in her ear.

 

“Good morning, love”

 

Zoe froze instantly, the knife she had been holding clattered on the working surface. She turned around to find Kyle smiling at her, a warm smile full of love and happiness. Seeing her so astonished clearly made him happy.

 

“Good morning to you, too, Kyle. When did you learn to say that?”

 

Kyle blushed a little, a faint sheen of pink spreading around his dimples and making a perfect contrast to his shaggy blond hair.

 

“Ben…”

 

Zoe just nodded, she didn’t want to push it further. When he was ready, he would talk more, so she just gave him a chaste kiss on the lips and turned around again to prepare their breakfast.

 

After their first night, they both hadn’t seen Violet anymore. Apparently, she wasn’t in the mood to show herself and that was okay with Zoe. At first, Zoe had been worried that she had caused this behaviour with her comments in the attic, but after some time Vivien had assured her that this was almost typical for Violet.

 

To sum it up, all was well. They were happy with their life just as it was.

 

One day, it was a rainy afternoon and Zoe had just gotten back from New Orleans where Cordelia had needed her to welcome the new students of the academy. When Zoe came back, Kyle wasn’t at home, but he’d left a note, telling her he was out and she didn’t need to worry.

 

So, after unpacking her luggage, she settled down in the living room with a glass of hot chocolate and a good book. After some time, however, she sensed someone enter the room, but, expecting it was someone not willing to show themselves, didn’t bother to check.

 

But, when a moment later she heard someone clear his or her throat, she put her book down and turned around to face the person who had made the sound. When she looked at the doorway, there was Tate, shuffling awkwardly on his feet and looking down.

 

“Ehm, sorry to interrupt you, I can come later if you’d rather…”

 

“Oh no, I couldn’t really concentrate on the plot anyway. Come in, take a seat.”

 

Tate came in and sat down on the armchair next to the sofa, still not looking at Zoe, but she already knew this behaviour from Kyle and just waited patiently for Tate to begin.

 

After a few minutes in silence, Tate finally began to speak.

 

“Zoe, I – there’s something I wanted to ask you. I mean, please don’t get me wrong, and you don’t have to answer…”

 

Zoe nodded in confirmation, waiting for Tate to go on and ask his question.

 

“How – How do you know that the thing with you and Kyle is love? I mean, like the real deal”

 

“That’s a good question. I think I just know it. There is not the one big thing that makes it real, it’s all the little things that come together and it just sort of fits. He just makes me happy. I know, he’s not very vocal, I hope we’ll get there eventually, but he’s always with me, and he tries to protect me. We just have an understanding, so I guess we don’t need words. I could go on forever, but I guess this pretty much sums it up. But now I want to ask a question.”      

 

Tate just looked at her and beckoned her to ask, knowing fully well what Zoe was about to ask.

 

“Why are you asking me this? I mean, that’s some heavy stuff for a calm day like this, isn’t it?”

 

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just – I don’t know, actually. Since you moved in, I wondered what you saw in him. Don’t get me wrong, Kyle’s a nice guy, you’re just so… different. And he never talks. And I asked myself if maybe you felt too guilty to leave him. And…”

 

Zoe smiled mildly, not offended by any of this. She knew this was not all there was to it, and was determined to find out what Tate really was after, even if it meant to dig a bit deeper. They had plenty of time.

 

“Okay, you can stop right there. First of all, you’re right, we are different, but you haven’t met him when he was alive. He was radiant, you know. I would have followed him everywhere and I’m sure that, one day, he’ll be the same again. It just takes some time to overcome all of this. And I know what I’m talking about, I was brought back from the dead as well. Trust me, this isn’t fun. And he was also shredded into pieces in this accident, and then put together by Madison and me. The thing with this kind of magic is, the longer it takes you to revive someone, the more difficult it gets and the heavier are the consequences. I have been dead for about an hour at the most. In magical terms, that’s nothing for a skilled witch like my supreme, the one who revived me. Kyle, on the other hand has been dead for days. We had to put him together from diverse body parts, not all of them his own, and then Madison and I, two young witches with talent, but next to no practice, revived him quite amateurishly. He’s been a lot worse, but with a bit of help from a friend, at least the scars from the junctures have gotten better. What I want to say is, for what he’s been through, he’s doing excellently and I’m really proud of him. You don’t need to be alike to be in love, sometimes it’s the differences that makes it interesting.”

 

Tate just looked down, not able to meet Zoe’s warm eyes. What she had just said had made his heart and stomach clench in agony. How was it possible that she could have gone through all of this with him without being pressured into it?

 

“I see…”

 

“Tate, what is all of this about? You wouldn’t ask all of this out of a mood. So, what’s wrong? You can tell me.”

 

He still looked down and breathed heavily, not knowing how to put what he really wanted to say into words. But he had to. Zoe had given so much away, she deserved to know what was the deal with him.

 

“There’s this girl. When I got to know her, she was still alive, but we fell in love nonetheless. And then, then I screwed up and she died and now she hates me and despises me and can’t stand being near me. I mean, what I did was pretty bad, and I get that it’s hard to forgive, but she says she still loves me. And then she doesn’t want to be with me because she thinks it doesn’t matter that she still loves me and I don’t know what to do. I really want to be with her, I love her, I’ve never felt like this before, maybe because I died so young and can’t leave the house. How would I ever get to know a nice girl if she didn’t move into this house? And I was really convinced that it was the real thing with us, but now… Now, things have changed. I get the feeling that it never has been real…”

 

“Why would you think that?”, Zoe asked, her head cocked to the side.

 

“Because of you! You and your half-dead boyfriend!”, Tate blurted out and immediately regretted it. He hadn’t meant to say something like this, especially not to Zoe, who had been so kind to him.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just, you and Kyle have such a loving and caring relationship that I start to doubt everything I had with that girl. She was kind of depressed and while I know it’s selfish of me to think so, it more or less was always about her. I didn’t mind looking after her, it was nice to have a purpose, but now it feels like she didn’t even try to make the effort of looking after me, too. Like, she thought it didn’t matter because I was dead anyways. Maybe it’s unfair and childish to think that, but it’s a feeling I got after seeing you and Kyle for a while.”

 

Zoe shook her head.

 

“Okay, first of all: It’s not childish. You have the right to think something like that. And you also have the right, you even deserve, to have a relationship that is profitable for both parties. That sounds a bit clinical, I admit that, but it’s true. Everyone deserves that, dead or alive.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

For the first time since they’d started this conversation Tate looked up at Zoe and what he found there made his breath hitch. In her kind eyes was nothing else than understanding and affection and warmth, something this house hadn’t seen in years and Tate, despite being dead for too long to even remember how long it really was, felt warm.

 

The ever-present chill that came with being dead and trapped in this house had just vanished and he felt something he hadn’t thought possible. That was what he almost imagined happiness to feel like and before he even knew it, the corners of his lips turned up more and more into a genuine smile.

 

Tate smiled at Zoe happily, flashing his teeth at her with his dimples showing and Zoe smiled back in an equal manner. That was when he realized: he hadn’t smiled in years. Yes, he had had fun with Violet, and they had laughed together, but it had never been as careless and easy as it was now with Zoe. It was freeing.

 

He wanted Zoe to know how much he appreciated what she had said, how much he appreciated her honesty and kindness, but none of the words that came to his mind seemed to be enough. He was too overwhelmed to even form a coherent thought, so, instead of searching for big words, he settled for something simple, yet true.

 

“Thank you, Zoe, really. I haven’t heard something like that in a long time.”

 

He still looked at Zoe, whose eyes seemed to well up a bit before she stood up and closed the distance between them. She took his hands in hers, beckoned him to stand up, and when Tate did, she embraced him, crossing her arms behind his back.

 

“There’s nothing to thank me for, Tate. You deserve to be loved and cherished, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise”

 

Her voice was soft and gentle and Tate just let go and let the moment wash over himself, getting lost in it with his eyes closed. Zoe smelled like summer and clean laundry and Tate found this was the best smell ever to be in this house. But, when he opened his eyes a little bit, there was Violet, boiling with rage, standing in the doorway.

 

For a moment, she just looked at him, disgust and wrath palpable in her eyes. Tate should have been bothered. He should have felt sorry for Violet. He should have let go of Zoe in order to explain everything to Violet.

 

But he didn’t.

 

Instead, he said: “I’m so glad you’re here, Zoe”

 

Only a second later, Tate and Zoe heard the door of the living room slam shut, followed by several pieces of decoration breaking, but neither of them seemed to care.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Honestly, Tate?! You’re glad she’s here? Did you hear yourself down there, did you hear what you said about me?”

 

Violet was fuming, her face an alarmingly intense shade of red.

 

“I didn’t tell I was talking abou-“

 

“As if she doesn’t know, you idiot! She’s a goddamn witch, maybe she can read your thoughts! Besides, you told her your mysterious girl moved into this house and died! She only has to add one and one and knows whom you’re talking about! God, I really can’t believe how fucking dumb you are. Did your brain stop working when you died or something?”

 

It was only 20 minutes after Violet had escaped the scene in the living room, but to Tate it felt like days had passed. Every good feeling he had had when he had been with Zoe was gone by now, like all the happiness was just drained out of him. He felt weak and exhausted, Violet’s insults cutting deep. Yet again, he felt like he would never be happy again. Being near her was poisonous, infectious, but not in a good way.

 

Her company meant constant pain, a pain worse than everything he had to experience so far. And that was a lot from someone who had been taken down by a sniper commando. The only thing she did and would ever do was hurt him, Tate was sure of that now.

 

Tate was tired of letting Violet wrecking him without fighting back. He was tired of her abusing him emotionally. He just was so tired of it. It had been enough.

 

“So what?! What if she knows? It’ll be good for her to know what kind of person you really are!”

 

Violets laugh was loud and sarcastic.

 

“What kind of person _I_ really am, Tate? Does she know what kind of person _you_ really are, for that matter? Does she know what you did? I don’t think so, I didn’t hear you telling her. So, what does that make you? A murderer? A psychopath? A liar? Something in between? Or all of it?”

 

Only a day ago, her words would have been enough to scare Tate away, to make him hide in the attic with Beau, determined to never come out of there again. But something had changed. He had changed. He had Zoe at his side now, and no one, not even Violet, would dare taking that away from him.

 

“Then why do you even care? You don’t want to be with me? Fine! Then be with your parents and your bother and Moira and whoever you want to be with! Just leave me alone and let me be happy!”

 

Tate was screaming now, but he didn’t care. Should all those damned freaks in this house hear it!

 

“Don’t you have an idea what it is like to watch you falling in love with that witch? She even resembles me! But she’s better, isn’t she? She’s whole and sane, not some depressed, insane girl that happened to come around! To you, she’s perfect and I can’t fucking stand it!”

 

The echo of Violet’s shrieks reverberated through the whole house and then, it was awfully silent. It was like no one in this house, not even the ghosts who could move without making a single sound, dared to move a muscle. Then, realization dawned on Tate and he opened his mouth to speak, choosing his words carefully.

 

“So what you’re saying is that you don’t want to be with me but you also don’t want me to be happy with someone else, even if it is just a close friendship? You just want me to suffer alone in this house, absorbed in my own sadness without anyone to talk to?”

 

Violet then turned around and went to the door, hesitating with her hand still on the handle and the door already open.

 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I want for you. That’s what you deserve. And I want them gone, too. I want you to have nothing and I will do everything to achieve that. After all, I have quite some time at my hands, don’t I?”

 

And with that, she was out of the door, leaving Tate behind in the empty room. What Violet didn’t know was that, a few rooms down the hall, Zoe and Kyle were looking at each other sternly. Nothing in this world, or their world, would get them out of the house and away from Tate.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next few days were marked by havoc and mischief. Zoe had to let Violet have that, she was quite creative. There had been blood of unknown origin in the whole house, dead animals in their garden and more disgusting and tasteless surprises, but Zoe and Kyle remained unimpressed. For all Violet could do to terrorize them, there was still one thing she couldn’t, or rather wouldn’t, do.

 

In the night after Tate and Violet’s big fight, Zoe and Kyle went to find Tate. They, well, in fact Zoe, but she spoke for Kyle, too, told him they didn’t want to leave the house and also wouldn’t, because that meant they would have to leave Tate behind. Tate, of course, was worried and tried to tell them how vicious the ghosts in this house could become if they didn’t get what they wanted, but Zoe could not be convinced.

 

She explained to Tate that the worst thing Violet could do was scare them, a task at which all ghosts had frankly sucked in the previous attempt, but she couldn’t kill them. Kyle, after being dead for too long before being revived, was more dead than alive as it was and even if he wasn’t, killing him and Zoe would result in them being in the house with Tate for all eternity, something Violet didn’t want to happen under all circumstances.

 

They just had to endure whatever else Violet had in store for them until she got bored and then they could live their live in peace, as a family. Or, at least, as their very own version of a family.

 

“Trust me, Tate, she’ll leave us alone eventually, it’s only a matter of time. She’ll go away.”

 

And that was when Tate got an idea.

 

 

* * *

 

 

During the next time, it was unusually calm in the house. Zoe and Kyle were almost sure that Violet had gotten sick of trying to scare them out of the house, but Tate knew better.

 

Even when she didn’t show herself, he could feel her presence. Being with Zoe and Kyle had made him much more receptive and aware of his surroundings so that it was no wonder that, as soon as Violet was near, the hairs in Tate’s neck stood on end.

 

He just had to wait for what he was sure was her final blow, the manoeuvre that should end Tate’s happy life with Kyle and Zoe.

 

As it turned out, it came soon enough.

 

It had been a bright sunny day and Tate had spent the day outside with Kyle, throwing footballs and having little one-on-one soccer matches. With more and more time passing, Kyle’s motoric abilities increased further, and by that time, Tate almost didn’t have to hold back anymore when duelling Kyle.

 

Zoe had been watching the scene with amusement and joy in her eyes while she had listened to the music that had come from the living room.

 

Now, it was late in the evening and they were content and happy. As a special treat, Kyle and Tate had made an effort of making dinner for Zoe (it turned out okay, but not as good as Zoe’s food, of course) and she was beaming at both of them. It was perfect.

 

And then Tate felt it, the cold that was running down his spine and settling deep in his stomach. Apparently, Violet had waited for a perfect day to ruin it. Of course she had. Tate looked at Zoe and Kyle in turns and both of them immediately knew what was on. They had talked about this, they knew what to do now.

 

At first, they just waited, pretending to be oblivious of their surroundings. They still didn’t know what Violet was up to, so they had to watch carefully. Zoe was already concentrating hard, focusing on her powers so that she could unleash them as soon as they were needed. Kyle shifted just a little, preparing himself to jump in any direction if he needed to protect someone. Tate concentrated on the now so dreaded presence that had once filled him with joy.

 

Violet was near now, he could feel it, somewhere in the room behind him, the living room, he realized. He could feel her presence move even through the thick walls and prepared himself what was about to come.

 

She would be invisible, they were sure of that, so they had to be extra cautious and extremely efficient. They only had this one try or they would have to wait for another few weeks, or even months, before Violet decided she was ready for another go.

 

A few minutes later, they felt the warmth, or rather, the heat. It was getting warmer. And brighter.

 

Fire.

 

Violet had set the house on fire.

 

As if on cue, Tate, Zoe and Kyle ran into the living room at the exact same moment, where they found the fireplace bursting with flames. It reeked of gasoline.

 

Tate looked at Zoe.

 

_She’s still here, I can feel her._

Zoe nodded and then her vision became blank. Tate focussed on Violet again, determined not to lose track of her.

 

_Still here._

 

Tate blinked. When he opened his eyes again, his vision was blurry and it took him a few moments to realize what Zoe had done.

 

Water. Zoe had created water out of thin air to put out the fire, which worked phenomenally. There were no flames to bee seen anymore, not even smoke. But there was something, someone, different, finally visible.

 

Violet was on the floor, soaking wet and panting, despite not needing any air to survive, one of the perks of being a ghost. She was shaking violently and looked up at the three of them, her eyes wide in shock. Slowly, she stood up but didn’t move in any other way and didn’t vanish again.

 

They stayed like this for what felt like hours when Tate began to ask himself why Violet didn’t try to run away. The explanation was simple. It was in Violet’s face, red and strained, in Zoe’s face, fierce and determined, and in Kyle’s face, smug and winning.

 

Violet tried to vanish and run away, but she couldn’t. Tate looked at Kyle questioningly, he didn’t want to disturb Zoe in what seemed to be an exhausting piece of advanced magic.

 

“Supreme showed her, couple days ago. Thought would come handy, that trick”, Kyle explained. He didn’t even know how right he was.

 

Tate stepped closer to Violet, who apparently had given up on trying to escape. She was completely focussed on Tate now, her eyes burning with so much hatred that Tate could barely manage to look at them. But he had to, one last time.

 

He straightened, taking advantage of his full height and positioned himself right in front of her. He set his face to make sure she got the message and prepared for the final blow, his very own move. The one move Tate knew Violet wasn’t ready for.

 

“Go on, Tate, I don’t know how long I can hold her, I only practiced with Beau and he wasn’t so intend on escaping”, Zoe growled between her in exhaustion gritted teeth.

 

Now or Never.

 

The thing with ghosts was, Patrick had explained to him, that there are a lot of ways to make them leave you alone. Some of them work better than other, and some don’t work at all. But those that worked all had something in common.

 

“You really have to mean it”, Patrick had said, “Not like when you have been fighting and don’t want to see the other one for the next few hours or something like that. That’s why I never could get Chad to leave. Because, deep down, even after all the stunts he pulled, after accusing me of all sorts of things and behaving like the old fag he really is, I still love him. And that is also why you can still approach Violet. She didn’t really mean it. She is just mad at you, but she still cares, in some wicked and twisted ways. She has plans for you, you are still in her thoughts, and that’s why it didn’t work. But it does. If you really mean what you say, telling her to go away works, even without fancy rituals.”

 

During the last few weeks, Tate hadn’t wasted a single thought on his time with Violet. He had thought about his family, his old and his new one, but never of her. She just wasn’t present in his head anymore, only in this house.

 

And that was why Tate felt so sure when he smiled and said his last words to her.

 

“I don’t want to see you anymore, Violet. GO AWAY!”


End file.
